The ESRI is warning changes to the electricity market will mean costs and prices will be less transparent.
The market is being redesigned to comply with EU rules from 2017.
Researchers say advance trading and interconnection are the best ways to ensure competition in pricing, but Ireland is limited in those two areas.
That means regulators will have to rely on continuous monitoring and regulation of bids made by companies, but the new structure could mean it's not so easy.
Dr. Valeria Di-Cosmo, Researcher with the ESRI, explains why they undertook the research:
